


Green (Heart)-Eyed Monster

by TheIntelligentHufflepuff



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 19:43:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20031307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIntelligentHufflepuff/pseuds/TheIntelligentHufflepuff
Summary: He shakes his head, tries to turn away. But his eyes rove back, insatiable. Steve is spinning Sam, goofily. Sam stumbles, and Steve instinctively grabs Sam to his chest to keep him up.For a wild, petty moment, Bucky wishes he'd just fall.[Post-Endgame, except an Endgame where nobody died. Bucky gets drunk and jealous at the after-party, but makes up with Sam and gets together with Steve the next day]





	Green (Heart)-Eyed Monster

It's a happy evening. Joyous, even. Disaster averted, everyone saved, the dusted returned and Earth's would-be invaders sent packing. There are still loose ends to tie up, but for now the pavilion in the centre of T'Challa's palace is alight with bulbs, the glint of jewels, and the flash of lustrous fabric as the heroes celebrate, spinning giddily. 

Bucky stands to the side, whisky in hand. He shouldn't be drinking; he should be dressed up. As it is, he's wearing a semi-neat tracksuit and distinctly tipsy. 

He should be happy, but he can't stop watching Steve. Steve, and Sam. 

They're dancing together, the old way. Sam's looking good in a suit heavily embroidered with Wakandan flowers, borrowed from their host. Steve's delectable in a dark blue number that sets his eyes aglow and makes his hair look like spun gold. Bucky watches as they spin, laughing together, heads bent close. His eyes zone in on Sam's hand splayed warmly across Steve's back, the way their chests almost brush. A sick, warm feeling pools in the pit of his stomach. His tumbler cracks. 

He shakes his head, tries to turn away. But his eyes rove back, insatiable. Steve is spinning Sam, goofily. Sam stumbles, and Steve instinctively grabs Sam to his chest to keep him up. 

For a wild, petty moment, Bucky wishes he'd just fall. 

It's stupid. He  _ knows  _ it's stupid. Bucky likes Sam, admires him, even looks up to him in a way. But so does Steve, and a selfish part of Bucky seethes at that- Steve likes Bucky, sure, but it would be ridiculous for him to admire him, preposterous for him to see him as any kind of role model. All Bucky has on his side is charm and dedication- but oh wait! Sam has that too. 

Bucky can practically hear wedding bells already. 

Disgusted- with Sam, with Steve, but most of all with himself- Bucky finishes his drink and stalks away. 

** 

Half an hour later, as Steve fixes them a drink at the bar, Steve turns to Sam and asks "Have you seen Bucky recently?" 

Sam shrugs and takes a mojito with a thanks. 

"I hope he's okay." Steve mutters. 

Sam rolls his eyes. This again. 

"I'm sure he is." He knocks Steve's shoulder with his fist "Relax. Turn mother-hen mode off and enjoy yourself for once. You saved the world!" 

"It was mostly Carol." Steve quips, though his shoulders loosen. Good. Personal development. 

Sam leans against the bar and turns out to the crowd. It's a pulsating, euphoric mass. Tony isn't there because it's his turn to stay with Morgan, but Pepper and Rhodey are letting loose after their badassery. A flash of dark skin leads Sam's eyes to Shuri, dancing with Peter like they’re  _ Breakfast Club  _ rejects . The sad thing is, the spider kid is probably genuinely trying his best. 

"I'm glad you're back." Steve says, not meeting Sam's gaze. 

Aww. 

"Me, too." Sam says. Hs leans forwards, mojito angled for a cheers. 

Steve smiles, but before their glasses can meet, Sam's is plucked out of his grasp. By metal fingers. 

" _ Bucky."  _ Steve scolds. 

Bucky ignores him, downing Sam's mojito while maintaining intense eye contact. Despite knowing that Bucky is mostly harmless, a shiver passes down Sam's spine. He's suddenly aware just how sweaty he is. 

"Hi?" Sam asks. 

Bucky crossed his arms and glares at him and Steve, swaying ever so slightly. Understanding passes over Steve's face and he mutters to himself "Great. He's  _ mean  _ drunk." 

Sam shoots Steve a look, but before Steve can say anything, Bucky's dragging Sam away. After a few moments of confused crowd-dodging, they end up on a secluded balcony overlooking the city. It's a nice view, but Sam has no time to admire it because Bucky's pushing him up against the railing, a slightly mad look in his eye. 

_ He's either gonna kiss me,  _ Sam thinks,  _ or kill me.  _

Either way, he squares up.

"The fuck do you want?" He demands. 

Bucky scowls, jabbing a finger accusingly in Sam's direction "Stop flirting with Steve. Don't marry him." 

_ What?  _

"What?" 

Bucky, somehow, succeeds in frowning harder. He masticates, searching for words in a way that screams of a man who's off his face but doesn't realise it and… _ yeah, no _ . Sam just saved the world (as a team, but come on- he kicked ass). He's earnt a drama-free evening. 

"Dude," he says as he steps around Bucky, clapping him on the shoulder "Go home, sober up, and in the morning, talk to Steve." 

Bucky starts to protest, turning to follow Sam; then he squints at Sam's clearly unamused face and, mercifully, lets him leave with a sheepish smile. 

Sam rolls his eyes. 

Three minutes later, he's dancing again.

*** 

Naturally, Steve is the first one to stir the next morning. Somehow half the Avengers had ended up crashing on the floor of the suite T'Challa leant to him, so as he makes his way out for his morning run he has to focus on avoiding stray limbs, skirts, and tufts of hair- he'll blame that for the fact that he doesn't notice Bucky hovering around the door until he speaks. 

"Steve?" 

He sounds timid, a little ashamed. Steve frowns- it doesn't take a genius to put his awkwardness now and his abrupt kidnapping of Steve's best friend the previous night together. 

"Hey, Buck. Sam's still asleep." 

Bucky nods, chewing at his lip. Steve considers the headphones in his hands, then sets them down on the counter. He grabs a metal water bottle, fills it, and hands it to Bucky. From the looks of it, he's fighting a hangover and the hangover is winning. 

Steve gestures to the door "Let's walk and talk." 

*** 

"So," Steve says when they're not even three meters out of the door "What went down with you and Sam last night? I thought you two were getting along."

There may, if Bucky is reading Steve correctly, be a little bit of disappointment thrown in with his joking voice. 

"We- Well, it's-Ugh!" Bucky shakes his head, starting again "It was about you."

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. 

"Okaaaay. What did I do to piss you off that you needed to yell at Sam about?"

Bucky winces,  _ really  _ wishing he'd held his cool last night.

“Not like that. It was more that-”  _ he can do this, just rip the plaster off  _ “It was more that I was jealous of Sam.” 

“Jealous?” Steve scoffs “Bucky, we’re all frien-” 

“ _ Romantically _ .” 

Steve blinks, long lashes fluttering like hummingbirds. Bucky can almost physically see him buffering. It doesn’t exactly do wonders for his ego. 

“Oh. Okay.” Steve says, eyes glazed over slightly. 

Bucky’s pulse picks up. What does  _ that  _ mean? 

“This changes things.” 

_ It does?  _ Bucky was really hoping Steve would be cool with it. Y’know. In the way he’s been cool with literally everything else Bucky has ever thrown at him? 

“You got something against gay people?” Bucky asks gruffly, in a tone that is definitely not like someone dragged his voice through a bush backwards. 

“Bucky, you dunce, I’m bi.” Steve reminds him “I’ve  _ told  _ you. It’s just-” he grabs Bucky’s arm, arresting their movement. Unconsciously, Bucky turns into him. 

“I’m in love with you.” Steve says, flushing “So, uh. There’s that.” 

“You’re in love with me?” Bucky echoes “I’m in love with you!” 

“Great!” Steve smiles “That’s so great!” 

“Yeah!” Bucky agrees, grinning like a lunatic and trying very hard not to ravage Steve then and there. It’s not like he hasn’t been closer to Steve before, but for some reason he feels suddenly alight with a twisting passion, like he can feel the heat of Steve’s body scorching him from a foot away. His head spins. 

Maybe it’s the hangover. 

“So,  _ why  _ were you jealous of Sam?” Steve asks, because he has no idea how to let Bucky have a moment. 

Bucky sighs “The way you were dancing with him. It was very...intimate.” 

“Intimate.” Steve looks unimpressed “Friends can be intimate, Bucky.” 

“I  _ know,”  _ Bucky whines “But I was  _ drunk  _ and I thought Sam was gonna marry you, and-” 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Steve cackles “You thought Sam was gonna  _ marry  _ me? Did I get a say in this, or…?” 

Bucky’s head plunks into Steve’s shoulder. Hesitantly, Steve’s hand makes its way into Bucky’s greasy hair. 

“Again, I was drunk and jealous. I wasn’t making much sense.” 

“So you decided to yell at our  _ mutual friend  _ rather than face your feelings?” 

“Eh.” Bucky takes the criticism, but still “Not like you haven’t basically done the same thing like...a tonne of times.” 

“This is a conversation about you.” Steve responds primly. 

“Yeah. And I don’t know why I’m having it with you, Mr. Emotional Constipation.” Bucky retorts. He softens the blow by linking their hands together. 

“Mr. Emotional Constipation,  _ dear _ to you.” Steve corrects, and damn he sounds so pleased about it. A knife twists in Bucky’s chest, but pleasantly. It’s a similar feeling to when he gets a particularly ornery goat to eat from the palm of his hand. 

“Hell, yeah.” 

Steve kisses the top of Bucky’s head, then pushes him away “Go talk to Sam.” 

“Okay. We’re having a date  _ today,  _ though.” Bucky informs him sternly. 

Steve snaps off a non-regulation salute and ambles away. As he watches him go, Bucky can’t help but think he has a spring in his step. 

*** 

Sam had been expecting Bucky to find him at some point. He hadn’t been expecting him to be so  _ happy.  _

“What are you up to?” he asks immediately. 

Bucky shrugs, but there’s a softness playing about his eyes that Sam can’t help but identify with the absolutely  _ whipped  _ expression Bucky’s been directing at Steve for the past week. 

“What is  _ Steve  _ up to?” 

“Going on a date, later.” Bucky smirks “With me.” 

“Ayyy, man!” Sam exclaims “I’m happy for ya’ll.” 

“Thanks.” Bucky says, sincerely. 

Then Sam remembers that he’s pissed “But what the fuck was last night?” 

Bucky sighs. He’s tracked Sam down to a small rock pool outside the palace’s guest gym; he sits on the edge of it, frowning. 

“I was out of order last night.” Bucky says. 

Good start. Sam nods. 

“I had no reason to take my feelings out on you, and no reason to make assumptions about your thoughts and feelings. And,” he tacks on “I had no right to get possessive of Steve, either. It’s not even like I’m the only person I know that’s been in love with him.” 

Awkward. 

Sam clears his throat “Well, none of them are me.” 

“Yeah,” Bucky huffs “I realise that now I’m  _ sober. _ ” 

“Good.” Sam nods “Apology accepted. Now will you  _ please  _ tell me what I did last night to signal my intention to marry the man, because I am at a  _ loss.”  _

  
  


Bucky darts forwards, grabs Sam’s empty water bottle, and throws it at his head. 

They’re back to normal, then. Sam smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno if Americans say 'ayyyy'. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this!   
Please comment if there are any parts you really liked or you have any constructive criticism to offer (especially r.e. do the two parts of this fic fit together in terms of style and tone, because this isn't beta'd and I wrote each half when in v different moods).


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